First, 2 nights in Kochi
Eighth Bastion
Kochi · Boutique · Premium★★★★
Stay at Eighth Bastion, Fort Kochi — a CGH Earth boutique hotel on the old fort line, walkable to the Chinese fishing nets, on our Kerala tours.
2 nightsStop 1 of 3
Premium Accommodation7 NightsPremiumHeritage
Kerala Hills & Spice — Grand — Premium
Chapter Two — Where You'll Stay
3 Real Stays, In Order
Handpicked along your own route — not a hotel chain repeated city to city.
Next, 3 nights in Munnar
Windermere Estate
Munnar · Boutique · Premium★★★★
A family-run tea and cardamom estate resort near Munnar, with plantation walks, hill views, and just 18 rooms.
3 nightsStop 2 of 3
Finally, 2 nights in Thekkady
Spice Village – A CGH Earth Experience
Thekkady · Resort · Premium★★★★
A CGH Earth spice-garden resort on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady, with cottages, pools, and Ayurveda spa.
2 nightsStop 3 of 3
Chapter Three — Activities & Sightseeing
The Real Stops Along the Way
6 of your 8days — the full day-by-day plan follows below.
Day 2 · Kochi
Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Start early at the Chinese fishing nets on Vasco da Gama Square. The frames are cantilevered. Four men work each one by hand. Chinese traders brought the design here centuries ago. The method has not changed since. Later, Mattancherry Palace and its Ramayana murals. The afternoon is yours — Fort Kochi rewards aimless walking.
Day 3 · Kochi → Munnar
Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
The drive up to Munnar takes about four hours and climbs the whole way. Rubber gives way to cardamom, then to tea. Stop at Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls when the monsoon has been kind. By the time you arrive the air is fifteen degrees cooler than Kochi.
Day 4 · Munnar
Munnar — Tea Estates & the Old Plantation Machinery
Munnar is tea, and has been since the 1880s. Spend the morning walking a working estate with a planter who can explain what you are looking at. The Tata Tea Museum houses the original rollers and a functioning miniature factory. Afternoon at Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point.
Day 5 · Munnar
Munnar — Kolukkumalai Sunrise & Top Station
A jeep collects you in the dark. Kolukkumalai sits at 7,900 feet and grows the highest tea in the world. You watch the sun come up over the Tamil Nadu plains with the cloud still below you. Top Station on the way back, then a long breakfast.
Day 6 · Munnar → Thekkady
Munnar to Thekkady — Along the Cardamom Hills
Three and a half hours south through the Cardamom Hills. The road is good and the views are constant. You can smell the plantations before you see them. Thekkady sits on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve, so the last stretch runs through genuine forest.
Day 7 · Thekkady
Thekkady — A Working Spice Plantation
Thekkady grows cardamom, pepper, clove, nutmeg and vanilla, often on the same hillside. A guided walk through a working plantation shows you how each one actually grows, which is rarely what people expect. Buy directly from the estate if you want the good stuff at the real price.
Chapter Four — Day by Day
8 Days, In Full
Every day, start to finish — including the transfers the sightseeing chapter above skipped.
Kochi
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter
Your driver meets you at Cochin airport. The road runs out to Fort Kochi, where four centuries of trade left their mark on one small peninsula. Walk the lanes on foot. St Francis Church, the Dutch Cemetery, the godowns of Jew Town still stacked with ginger and pepper. Evening is free for a Kathakali performance if you want one.
Kochi
Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Start early at the Chinese fishing nets on Vasco da Gama Square. The frames are cantilevered. Four men work each one by hand. Chinese traders brought the design here centuries ago. The method has not changed since. Later, Mattancherry Palace and its Ramayana murals. The afternoon is yours — Fort Kochi rewards aimless walking.
Kochi → Munnar
Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
The drive up to Munnar takes about four hours and climbs the whole way. Rubber gives way to cardamom, then to tea. Stop at Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls when the monsoon has been kind. By the time you arrive the air is fifteen degrees cooler than Kochi.
Munnar
Munnar — Tea Estates & the Old Plantation Machinery
Munnar is tea, and has been since the 1880s. Spend the morning walking a working estate with a planter who can explain what you are looking at. The Tata Tea Museum houses the original rollers and a functioning miniature factory. Afternoon at Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point.
Munnar
Munnar — Kolukkumalai Sunrise & Top Station
A jeep collects you in the dark. Kolukkumalai sits at 7,900 feet and grows the highest tea in the world. You watch the sun come up over the Tamil Nadu plains with the cloud still below you. Top Station on the way back, then a long breakfast.
Munnar → Thekkady
Munnar to Thekkady — Along the Cardamom Hills
Three and a half hours south through the Cardamom Hills. The road is good and the views are constant. You can smell the plantations before you see them. Thekkady sits on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve, so the last stretch runs through genuine forest.
Thekkady
Thekkady — A Working Spice Plantation
Thekkady grows cardamom, pepper, clove, nutmeg and vanilla, often on the same hillside. A guided walk through a working plantation shows you how each one actually grows, which is rarely what people expect. Buy directly from the estate if you want the good stuff at the real price.
Thekkady
Thekkady — Periyar Lake at Dawn, then Onward
The first boat onto Periyar Lake leaves at half past seven. Dead trees still stand in the water, drowned when the dam went up in 1895, and elephant and sambar come down to drink along the shoreline. Bring a long lens. Afterwards you continue on or head for the airport.
Chapter Five — Terms & Conditions
Straightforward, In Writing
Cancellation windows, refund timing, and rescheduling terms for this journey follow our one sitewide policy — nothing package-specific to dig through.
Read the Return & Refund PolicyChapter Six — Similar Journeys
More of Kerala, Privately
Why Choose Us
The Same Trust, Sized to This Trip
01
Planning, Built Around You
This route was shaped around Kerala's real places, not lifted from a fixed template.
13 years — Brijesh Sharma, Bespoke Itinerary Specialist
02
Handpicked Hotels
Every stay on this trip was chosen in person, not off a ratings page.
3 real stays, 4★
03
A Private Fleet, Always Yours
One driver, air-conditioned, for the whole route — no shared shuttle.
Premium sedans & SUVs · One driver, the whole trip
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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